How to Freak People Out at Fashion Week

The fashion flock loves to chatter between shows, slipping into evergreen gripes about the number of Fashion Week events and the schlepping between Bryant Park and far-flung lands like the Meatpacking District. But this season there's one sure way to stop a conversation: ask anyone who's actually there buying clothes: How's business?

"Very tough," said the first retail executive Portfolio.com asked, declining to attach her name to the ugly reality underlying all the creativity and glamour.

But business has been bad for some months now, and retailers have been taking defensive measures that are starting to show results. Retail consultant Rose Bruner, who is working the tents this season on behalf of eight specialty stores that sell European and American designer lines, says that for the first time in about a year, her clients sales' are breaking even--or are even ahead a bit.

The reason? "A lot are sitting on their pencils," said Bruner, who runs an eponymous buying and merchandising consultancy.

Cutting back orders helps retailers' results, but doesn't bode well for upstart designers.

"My clients are not picking up any new resources," Bruner said. "They want the tried and true."

by Catherine Curan

More on Fashion Week from Portfolio.com:

Cutting Corners
The Runway Race for Retail
Making Model Moms